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<title>The Falling Ashes by Sutera Tsuki (Fanschaotictrash)</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29963910">The Falling Ashes</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fanschaotictrash/pseuds/Sutera%20Tsuki'>Sutera Tsuki (Fanschaotictrash)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Tales of a Weathered City [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Durarara!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canon Divergent, Character Development, Friendship, Gen, One Shot, Prequel, Regret, Rivalry, Short, Strength, after the show, alternative universe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 02:20:16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,980</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29963910</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fanschaotictrash/pseuds/Sutera%20Tsuki</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A part of the Tales of a Weathered City series, taking place before Burning Yellow With Black Smoke, Celty and Shizuo reflect on what happened during the incident. Shizuo can’t believe what he almost did, neither can Celty, who attempts to set things right. If only things hadn’t gotten so bad...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Heiwajima Shizuo &amp; Celty Sturluson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Tales of a Weathered City [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2086710</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Falling Ashes</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Celty leaned against the entrance of the apartment building, her shadowy pajamas dramatically contrasting the building’s old, beige walls. She wore no helmet and her smoke flickered as she watched the tall, blonde-haired man in concern. He paced around like an animal trapped in a cage, illuminated by a nearby streetlight that only made his expression look that much darker as he stared down. She could feel the intense energy radiating off of him and it made her tense. She told him he could come inside, he was always welcome, but he insisted on staying there. He didn’t have the energy, or more of, didn’t trust himself enough to deal with Shinra, it seemed no one had the energy to deal with anything anymore. Mikado was in the hospital, Anri and Masaomi were staying with him almost constantly, Shinra was still stuck in a wheelchair, Dotachin and his group had suddenly gone quiet, Seiji and Mika had disappeared, Izaya was who knows where in serious condition, and Shizuo was as distressed as she’d ever seen him. If anything, it felt like she was the only one that had gotten out of everything okay and she couldn’t help but feel guilty for that. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She recognized that her strength as a Dullahan was, in a word, unfair, and she wished she could somehow share it with them. After getting her head back, though she couldn’t recall her past memories now, she had become even more aware of how strange, how different she truly was. She felt a certain way when she had her head. It made her feel big, too big for her own skin, and she was so glad the feeling was gone. Without it, she could look at Shizuo as just a man, no, as just her friend, that had gone down the wrong path. Thinking back on it, if one didn’t count Shinra, Shizuo was probably the first friend she made in the city. He didn’t mind her odd quirks and was able to overlook her supernatural status, seeing the woman underneath all the smoke. In return, she did the same for him. She always believed they were drawn to each other because they were so different. Her, a lost fairy, him a human with inhuman strength. They were outsiders, but they could be outsiders together. With him around, that wild city couldn’t swallow her whole. Now, she hardly saw him as abnormal anymore. She thought she was a small speck in a city of normality yet was quickly proven wrong. She had met Ruri and Anri, saw supernatural forces at play, gang wars, friends becoming enemies, and enemies becoming friends, all reaching a head </span>
  <em>
    <span>that night</span>
  </em>
  <span>. She doubted anything could surprise her anymore, not that the city could go any further than it had. Every fire that was brewing had finally exploded and all that was left was the smoke and ashes. That was only a few days ago and the parties involved were still choking on it, especially Shizuo. Hell, she couldn’t believe what she had seen either. Remembering it made her stomach tie in knots and her smoke swirl.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She debated what to say as she watched him, uttering curses and struggling to get out his words. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I just,” he tried to begin once more, finally stopping and adjusting his glasses. Celty had waited patiently all this time. She knew exactly what was wrong, but she thought it would be for the best if she let him say it. He needed to say it, process it, then start to move on and forgive himself. “I was getting better! I thought I was starting to understand this whole...temper thing. I was calming down, getting my head on straight. I even forgave Vorona despite it all cause I just liked her so much. Then, that fl-” he said, quickly cutting himself off. He gritted his teeth, removing his glasses and massaging his temples. She let him think it over. Eventually, he spoke up again. “Then </span>
  <em>
    <span>he </span>
  </em>
  <span>showed up and all of that went flying out the window. One minute I’m having a civil conversation with Vorona, the next I’m trying to...kill someone.” He swallowed, the word clearly setting his nerves on edge. “I don’t know what happened, Celty, it was like my body went on autopilot and I just couldn’t stop it.” He looked to her and, seeing her opening, she swiftly typed up a message.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>It was in self-defense! He was trying to kill </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>you</em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span>! Obviously, you went too far but it wasn’t entirely your fault.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, but I always could have just walked away, couldn’t I? Could of stayed with Vorona and kept her safe, or...I don’t know,” he admitted, digging his heel into the ground in frustration. She was unsure what to say. He was right, she just hated to see him beat himself up for something he couldn’t change now.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If I had just talked to him, maybe I could have knocked some sense into him. That’s what Tom or you would have done, but I had to be the big idiot again.” That wasn’t what she had expected to hear from him. He was always the type to act without thinking and he definitely wasn’t a negotiator. So much had changed. Was she or anyone else really ready for it, or did they change to adjust to the new beast the city had become? Do the people change with the city, or does the city change with the people, and which caused Shizuo to be so distraught in the middle of the night? Although, it was only natural for him to be worried about it now, after all, he had only recently been reassured that he didn’t lead to someone’s death. From whom she wasn’t sure.  She didn't have an answer for him, she didn’t know how Izaya would have reacted to that attempt. He began to pace again. “I can’t shake the feeling that Izaya was right. Maybe I am a </span>
  <b>monster</b>
  <span>.” </span>
  <b>Monster</b>
  <span>, she hated that word. It was thrown around to belittle anyone that was different, ignoring the people, the humans, that deserved such a title. One such man was lying in a bed, helpless and unable to walk, for how long neither knew. All she did know was that he stole her head and tried to kill someone precious to her, and yet, she didn't want anyone dead, not truly. Not on either side, and that’s why she had stepped in, regardless of her hatred for Izaya.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>You’re not a monster, don’t ever say that! </span>
  </em>
  <span>She quickly reassured him, walking over and putting her hand on his shoulder. </span>
  <em>
    <span>It was a tense situation. It’s not your fault you buckled under pressure. I think anyone would.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, but I’m not just anybody. When I lose control people get hurt, really hurt, and this...I never thought I’d actually take it this far, not even with him.” It surprised Celty too. Shizuo was violent and ill-tempered, yes, but he wasn’t a killer. “If it wasn’t for you, what would I have done?” She could remember that moment, the time before she got her head cut off and after, more clearly than she wanted to. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She had been watching the chaos down below from above and everything she had seen had terrified her. One of these things was Shizuo dragging a vending machine through the plaza, ready to finish the job, heading straight for Izaya. The man stood there, hunched over due to his horrible condition, coughing up blood. The red-eyed onlookers watched without much care. Lights of green, orange, and blue covered the crimson scene in such a lurid way that it almost looked like a bad dream. She had hoped Shizuo would just knock him unconscious and that would be that. Izaya wouldn’t be able to keep fighting him and someone could attend to him while he was out. Besides, during the first part of the fight, her mind had been terribly fogged, now she could see it so clearly and she </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>to step in. She wouldn’t let him do something he’d regret, she wouldn’t let someone die on her watch. Shizuo stared Izaya down, brown eyes blazing, almost looking orange in his fiery. He was going for the kill. At first, she wasn’t sure what to do, but as he got nearer she knew she had no choice.</span>
</p><p><span>“Shizuo! He’s nearly dead, stop it!”</span> <span>She had yelled down in terror, her supernatural voice easily echoing through the city, and, hearing her voice, he froze. Both he and Izaya looked up and around in confusion. Naturally Shizuo didn’t recognize her actual voice, to her knowledge, he had never heard it. His rage melted, replaced by confusion, then, as he looked back to Izaya, the Izaya that was hardly standing, horror. He dropped the vending machine, face paling.</span></p><p>
  <span>“I-I…” Shizuo said and Izaya’s squinted eyes began to finally close, raspy breath slowing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You...</span>
  <b>monster…</b>
  <span>” A few things happened after that in rapid succession. From a distance, she could see Vorona rushing to the scene, Simon, Denis, and Tom close behind, rushing as if they wanted to stop her. Around the time she had reached it, knife in hand, is when Izaya passed out. He hit the pavement with a pretty loud thud, both her and Shizuo too slow to catch him. She didn’t want to assume, but she had a feeling Vorona would only make things worse, and she wasn’t certain Simon and the others could stop her on time. So, before the fighting could start up again and while Shizuo was finally lucid, she made it rain. Both Izaya and Vorona ended up safely in her black webs. For a while, she just stared down at them. She hated seeing it, seeing them, Shizuo and Izaya, Mikado and Masaomi, everyone, all trying to destroy each other. That’s why she left, she couldn’t bear it anymore.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I don’t know, but the point is that didn’t happen. You stopped yourself before I even had to come down there. I think that counts for something.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe, but what if it happens again and you’re not around? If I can’t control myself as well as I thought, well, someone could end up dead,” he said and Celty flinched at his wording. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>But Shizuo... </span>
  </em>
  <span>He held his hand up to stop her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No. I can’t make any more excuses for myself, Celty.” He clenched his fist. “I keep saying I’m gonna get better, then I keep going back to square one. This has gone on for long enough.” He turned as if to leave and she reached for him in distress. “Thanks for listening to me, Celty, and sorry for calling you out so late at night. I think I need to be alone for a while and sort myself out. It’d be best for everyone that way.” He paused, turning to glance at her slightly. “Thanks again for stopping me.” With that, he was gone. She was all alone. It felt as if her friends were slowly disappearing one by one, their passion, their spark flickering and fading out. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She had no idea that, a month or so from now, thanks to Anri’s kindness, she’d be properly introduced to Masaomi. She had no clue they’d become so close and, as she sat there with him, she wouldn’t know she was looking at one of her best friends. Nor did she realize that the next year would be the most peaceful time of her life, that this sadness she felt so deeply would fade. Then he’d come back and the calm life she lived would be thrown into chaos once more. She couldn’t predict what would happen, and so, in that moment, seeing all her friends so hurt, she couldn’t help but assume the worse. If only things hadn’t gotten so bad...</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>
  <a href="https://talesofaweatheredcity.tumblr.com/">AU Tumblr</a>
  <br/>
  <a href="https://fanschaotictrash.tumblr.com/post/645295427877470208/the-falling-ashes-short">Short Announcement</a>
  <br/>
  <a href="https://fanschaotictrash.tumblr.com/">My Fandom Tumblr</a>
</p></blockquote></div></div>
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